Event-driven coupon processor alert

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and methods for providing electronic coupons are provided. The apparatus and methods include a system that uses a plurality of coupon processors to pull coupon data from an electronic coupon platform upon the expiration of a predetermined time period. The apparatus and methods additionally include a system that uses an electronic coupon platform to pushes data to a plurality of coupon processors upon the expiration of a predetermined time period. The apparatus and methods also include a system that redeems electronic coupons by initiating a deposit of an amount of funds in a customer bank account at predetermined time intervals. The apparatus and methods further include an electronic coupon platform that sends an electronic notification to a plurality of coupon processors upon the receipt of data from a first coupon processor which relates to the receipt of customer payment card and/or loyalty card information.

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

Aspects of the disclosure relate to electronic coupon processing. Inparticular, the disclosure relates to processing electronic couponoffers at, or in association with, an electronic transaction at a pointof sale terminal.

BACKGROUND

One type of coupon is a discount offer. Such a coupon may function likecash and be applied toward payment for customer goods at a point of saleterminal.

For manufacturers and retailers, coupons are a tool for productmarketing. However, a deterrent to conventional coupon use is therequirement that the customer physically obtain the coupon by eitherclipping or printing the coupon, carrying the coupon to a retaillocation and presenting the coupon at a point of sale terminal.

It would be desirable, therefore, to provide apparatus and methods forapplying electronic coupons at a point of sale terminal withoutrequiring the physical presentation of the coupon at the point of saleterminal. Such systems and methods may include a coupon processor inelectronic communication with a point of sale terminal. The couponprocessor may store customer information that includes an electroniccoupon electronically selected by a customer. In the event that thecustomer identifies himself at the point of sale terminal, the couponprocessor may be configured to subsequently validate the coupon to thepoint of sale terminal or, alternatively, instruct the point of saleterminal to redeem the electronic coupon on behalf of the customer.

In the event that a system uses multiple coupon processors to storecustomer information, a first coupon processor may instruct a point ofsale terminal associated with the first coupon processor to redeem anelectronic coupon on behalf of the customer. A second coupon processor,however, may be unaware of the electronic coupon redemption. This isundesirable at least because the second coupon processor maysubsequently authorize a point of sale terminal associated with thesecond coupon processor to redeem the electronic coupon that has alreadybeen redeemed at the first point of sale terminal.

Thus, it is further desirable to provide systems and methods to enhancea multi-coupon processor environment in order to avoid the doubleredemption of a single electronic coupon. Such systems and methods mayinclude an electronic coupon platform. The electronic coupon platformmay be in electronic communication with the multiple coupon processorsand assist in avoiding the double redemption of a single electroniccoupon.

SUMMARY

Systems and methods for redeeming an electronic coupon are provided. Thesystems and methods may include an electronic coupon platform. Theelectronic coupon platform may include a receiver module that receivesdata relating to the redemption of a plurality of electronic coupons bya customer. The data may include an electronic coupon identifierassociated with each of the plurality of electronic coupons. Eachelectronic coupon identifier may be associated with a redemption value.The electronic coupon platform may also include a storage module thatstores the data and associates it with the customer. The electroniccoupon platform may further include a processor module that initiates adeposit of an amount of funds in a customer bank account associated withthe customer at predetermined time intervals. The processor module mayelectronically calculate the amount of funds. The calculation mayinclude summing the redemption values associated with each distinctelectronic coupon identifier included in the stored data.

A method for transmitting electronic coupon information is alsoprovided. The method may include using a receiver module to receive datarelating to an electronic coupon selected by a customer via a web-basedportal accessible via the internet. In immediate response thereto, themethod may further include using a transmitter module to transmit datarelating to the customer and the selected electronic coupon to aplurality of coupon processors. Preferably each of the plurality ofcoupon processors are in electronic communication with one or more pointof sale terminals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent uponconsideration of the following detailed description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows apparatus in accordance with the principles of theinvention;

FIG. 2 shows other apparatus in accordance with the principles of theinvention;

FIG. 3 shows an electronic display in accordance with the principles ofthe invention;

FIG. 4 shows another electronic display in accordance with theprinciples of the invention;

FIG. 5 shows still other apparatus in accordance with the principles ofthe invention;

FIG. 6 shows still other apparatus in accordance with the principles ofthe invention;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a process in accordance with the principlesof the invention;

FIG. 8 is another flow diagram of a process in accordance with theprinciples of the invention;

FIG. 9 is yet another flow diagram of a process in accordance with theprinciples of the invention;

FIG. 10 is still another flow diagram of a process in accordance withthe principles of the invention;

FIG. 11 is still another flow diagram of a process in accordance withthe principles of the invention;

FIG. 12 is still another flow diagram of a process in accordance withthe principles of the invention;

FIG. 13 is still another flow diagram of a process in accordance withthe principles of the invention;

FIG. 14 is still another flow diagram of a process in accordance withthe principles of the invention;

FIG. 15 is still another flow diagram of a process in accordance withthe principles of the invention; and

FIG. 16 is still another flow diagram of a process in accordance withthe principles of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Apparatus and methods for distributing and redeeming electronic couponsare provided. The apparatus and methods may also be applied to vouchers,certificates, awards, incentives, discounts, values and/or any otherbenefit. The electronic coupons may be provided to a customer inconnection with the purchase of one or more goods and/or services.

The systems and methods of the invention may include an electroniccoupon platform. The electronic coupon platform may be supported by afinancial institution, manufacturer, retailer, or any other suitableparty such as an issuer of a loyalty card and/or purchasing instrumentaccount. The electronic coupon platform may receive electronic couponsfrom one or more offer sources, such as one or more coupon processors.The coupon processors may be associated with one or more retailers,manufacturers and/or loyalty card providers. The coupon processors maybe in electronic communication with one or more point of sale(hereinafter, “POS”) terminals at one or more merchant locations. Theelectronic communication may be real-time communication.

The electronic coupon platform may be used for the compilation,publication, storage, display, application and/or settlement of theelectronic coupons received from the coupon processors. The electroniccoupon platform may display the electronic coupons to multiple customersusing an electronic platform, such as a web-based portal. The web-basedportal may be supported by, in electronic communication with, and/or anintegral part of the electronic coupon platform. Thus, it should beunderstood that any references herein to an electronic coupon platformor a web-based portal may, in different embodiments, relate to aweb-based portal or an electronic coupon platform, or both,respectively.

The web-based portal may be accessed via the internet, a cell phone, aPDA, or any other suitable device that supports an internet connection.In some embodiments, the web-based portal may be accessed via an ATMand/or a kiosk at a participating retailer. In the embodiments whereinthe electronic coupon platform is supported by a financial institution,the web-based portal may be accessed using an online banking applicationprovided by the financial institution. Access to the web-based portalmay be restricted to enrolled and/or eligible customers. In someembodiments, payment of a one-time or recurring fee may be required foraccess to the web-based portal.

The web-based portal may enable a customer to associate one or moreelectronic coupons with one or more payment instruments and/or loyaltycards. The payment instrument may be a credit card, a debit card, acheck, a bank card and/or a stored-value card. The payment instrumentmay also be a bar-coded article, an instrument or device that includes acontactless chip such as an ISO14443-compliant contactless chip, a cellphone, an RFID-based device, a personal data assistant or any othersuitable electronic, encoded or information-bearing purchasing device.The loyalty card may be any card provided by one or more merchantsand/or retailers to be used for application of coupons.

The customer may be required to enroll in a coupon service prior toaccessing electronic coupons offered by the web-based portal. Enrollmentmay be carried out via an enrollment option included on the web-basedportal. Enrollment may include a customer inputting information relatingto one or more payment instruments and/or loyalty cards. The customermay input the information relating to the payment instruments and/orloyalty cards by inputting loyalty card and/or payment instrumentinformation into one or more input fields displayed in a graphical userinterface (hereinafter, “GUI”) included in the web-based portal. In theembodiments wherein the customer chooses to enroll in the coupon servicevia a kiosk, the customer may swipe a payment instrument and/or aloyalty card to identify the payment instrument and/or loyalty card.

It should be noted that, in the embodiments wherein the paymentinstrument is a bar-coded article, an instrument or device that includesa contactless chip, a cell phone, an RFID-based device, a personal dataassistant or any other suitable electronic, encoded orinformation-bearing purchasing device, the customer may be required touse the payment instrument to input one or more pieces of information toa point of sale terminal. For example, in the embodiments wherein thepayment instrument is a mobile phone that supports near fieldcommunication (“NFC”) technology, the customer may use the mobilephone's NFC chip to input identification information into a point ofsale terminal.

Enrollment may additionally include the customer inputting one or morepieces of customer information, such as customer name, address and/ortelephone number, into additional input fields included in the web-basedportal. The web-based portal may store the customer data in addition tothe payment instrument and/or loyalty card data in a customer profiledatabase. Upon completion of enrollment in the coupon service, thecustomer may be granted password-secured access to the web-based portal.The password-secured access may enable the customer to view andassociate electronic coupons with the enrolled payment instrument(s)and/or loyalty card(s).

In the embodiments wherein the electronic coupon platform is supportedby a financial institution, customer enrollment in one or more of a bankaccount, debit card, credit card, bank mortgage program, and/or anyother suitable financial product provided by the financial institutionmay be sufficient or required to enable a customer to access theelectronic coupons offered by the web-based portal. In theseembodiments, a customer may select one or more payment instruments withwhich he desires to associate electronically selected electroniccoupons. In some embodiments, the payment instrument(s) may be requiredto be provided by the financial institution.

Additionally, the customer may be presented with the option to enterinformation relating to one or more loyalty cards with which he desiresto associate electronically selected electronic coupons. In the eventthat the customer selects payment instruments(s) and/or loyalty card(s)with which to apply the systems and methods of the invention, thecustomer may initiate the coupons service provided by the financialinstitution.

It should be noted that, in some of the embodiments wherein theelectronic coupon platform is supported by a financial institution, acustomer may enroll a payment instrument issued by a financialinstitution different from the supporting financial institution.Additionally, the customer may not be a customer of the financialinstitution. In some of these embodiments, the customer may be requiredto participate in an enrollment process and/or pay a fee prior toaccessing and applying the systems and methods of the invention that areprovided by the supporting financial institution.

Upon customer enrollment in or initiation of the coupon service, thecustomer may view electronic coupons by accessing the web-based portaland viewing one or more web pages. The web-based portal may enable thecustomer to select one or more of the electronically-displayedelectronic coupons. A customer selection of one or more of theelectronic coupons and/or selection of a ‘submit’ or similar icon mayprompt the web-based portal to electronically associate the selectedelectronic coupons with customer identification information and/or thecustomer's enrolled payment instruments and/or loyalty cards. Datarelating to the selected electronic coupons may be stored in a databaseincluded in the electronic coupon platform. In some embodiments,subsequent use of the purchasing instrument and/or loyalty card at apoint of sale terminal may trigger the application of one or more of theelectronic coupons stored on the electronic coupon platform.

The web-based portal may communicate one or more electronic couponoffers to a customer. In these embodiments, the web-based portal mayenable the customer to select one or more communication options for thereceipt of the electronic coupon offers. Electronic coupon offers may betransmitted to the customer weekly, monthly or on any other appropriateschedule. In addition to, or in place of, the scheduled transmission,individual offers or groups of offers may be transmitted as a specialpromotion.

For example, in some embodiments, the communication method may involvean email message. The email message may display electronic coupon offersand enable desired offers to be selected. Reminders regarding availableoffers may also be sent in the email message.

In additional embodiments, the communication method may involve thetransmission of an electronic message to a mobile device, such as a textmessage to a mobile phone. The electronic message may include electroniccoupon offers, reminders about available offers or reminders aboutoffers previously selected. The location of the mobile device may promptthe transmission of the electronic message. For example, entering aretail location that participates in the coupon service may trigger thetransmission of an electronic message. Furthermore, the presentation ofan enrolled customer payment card and/or loyalty card may trigger thetransmission of the electronic message. Additionally, an electronicmessage may be electronically transmitted to a customer in the eventthat a point of sale terminal, coupon processor and/or electronic couponplatform receives an indication that the customer has presented forpurchase goods for which a electronic coupon offer is present in acustomer profile to which the customer is linked.

In yet other embodiments, a POS terminal at which a customer presents apurchasing instrument and/or goods to be purchased may display and/orprint electronic coupon offer information to the customer.

In further embodiments, electronic coupon offers may be communicated toa customer in conjunction with a regular communication related to acustomer loyalty card and/or purchasing instrument. For example, a listof available electronic coupon offers may be appended to a customer bankstatement, which may be an electronic statement or a paper copy. In yetother embodiments, a reminder may appear on a receipt printed from anATM upon the completion of an ATM transaction.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, after viewing electroniccoupons displayed in the web-based portal, a customer may select one ormore electronic coupons. The customer may subsequently select a button,such as a ‘SUBMIT’ or ‘APPLY’ button, to verify his selections. Theelectronic coupon platform may then store information relating to theselected electronic coupons together with customer profile dataassociated with the customer. The data may be stored in a customerprofile database or any other suitable database.

The electronic coupon platform may transmit the selected coupon data toone or more coupon processors. The coupon processors may be couponprocessors in electronic communication with one or more point of saledevices configured to redeem at least one of the selected coupons.

The transmitted data may include at least the selected electroniccoupons and customer identification information identifying the customerthat selected the electronic coupons. It should be noted that, in theevent that the electronic coupon platform transmits to a couponprocessor data relating to a customer for the first time—e.g., where thecustomer has selected coupons available to be redeemed by the couponprocessor for the first time—the electronic coupon platform mayadditionally transmit data relating to customer identificationinformation and the payment instrument(s) and/or loyalty card(s) thatthe customer enrolled in the systems and methods of the invention.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the customer may haveenrolled at the coupon processor, but not yet transmitted any data tothe processor from the platform. In such an embodiment, the electroniccoupon platform may also transmit data relating to customeridentification information and the payment instrument(s) and/or loyaltycard(s) that the customer enrolled with the platform according to thesystems and methods of the invention.

The coupon processors that receive the transmitted data may store atleast a portion of the data in a database. Upon storage of the data in adatabase, each of the coupon processors may be configured to inform aPOS terminal of one or more electronic coupons available to be redeemedon behalf of the customer. The coupon processors may inform the POSterminal of electronic coupons available to be redeemed on behalf of thecustomer in the event that the POS terminal transmits identificationinformation that identifies the customer and/or goods that the customerdesires to purchase at the POS terminal.

For example, at a POS terminal, goods may be scanned for checkout onbehalf of the customer. Any paper coupons may be applied, any merchantloyalty card may be processed, and these discount(s) may be deductedfrom product prices. Prior to the customer paying for the goods, productidentifiers such as stock-keeping unit numbers (“SKUs”) and/or UniversalProduct Codes (“UPCs”) may be transmitted to a coupon processor inelectronic communication with the POS terminal. Customer paymentinformation and/or loyalty card information may additionally betransmitted to the coupon processor by the POS terminal.

Upon receipt of the data, the coupon processor may determine if thecustomer payment card information and/or loyalty card information isassociated with a stored customer profile. In the event that the couponprocessor identifies a customer profile associated with the receivedcard information, the coupon processor may proceed to compare storedcoupons included in the identified customer profile to the product SKUsand/or UPCs.

The coupon processor may identify stored coupons included in thecustomer profile that relate to the product SKUs and/or UPCs. The couponprocessor may then update the data associated with the identifiedelectronic coupons to include the redeemed status of the identifiedstored coupons. In some embodiments, the coupon processor may deletedata relating to the identified stored coupons.

Additionally, the coupon processor may transmit the identified couponinformation to the POS terminal. The POS terminal may subsequentlyadjust the customer's purchase price based on the transmittedinformation. The coupon processor may then transmit to the electroniccoupon platform information relating to the identified electroniccoupons and the identified customer. Upon receipt of the data from thecoupon processor, the electronic coupon platform may modify customerprofile data associated with the customer to include the redeemed statusof the identified electronic coupon(s).

In other embodiments, the coupon processor may not inform the POSterminal of the coupons available to be redeemed. Rather, the couponprocessor may transmit to the electronic coupon platform informationrelating to the identified electronic coupons and the identifiedcustomer. Upon receipt of the data from the coupon processor, theelectronic coupon platform may modify customer profile data associatedwith the customer to include the redeemed status of the electroniccoupon(s). Later, the electronic coupon platform may credit the customerfor a redemption value associated with the identified electroniccoupons. The electronic coupon platform may credit the customer byinitiating a deposit of an amount of funds into a customer-specifiedaccount, such as a bank account and/or a direct deposit account (“DDA”).

It should be noted that the systems and methods of the invention mayinclude filtering electronic coupons offered to a customer based oncustomer data. The customer data may be drawn from purchasing instrumentaccount information, past purchasing instrument use, previously selectedelectronic coupon offers, past redeemed electronic coupons or any otherappropriate data source. Examples of customer data used to filterelectronic coupon offers may include information regarding geographicregion, categories of product purchases, specific product purchasesand/or shopping history with identified merchants.

Predictive analytics or any other appropriate technique may be a used toanalyze the customer data and apply it to the electronic coupon offers.For example, systems and methods for narrowing and selecting compatibleelectronic coupon offers based on customer data as described in patentapplication Ser. No. 13/017,103, entitled “Customer Benefit OfferOrganization,” filed Jan. 31, 2011, the contents of the applicationwhich are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety, maybe applied to a set of electronic coupon offers.

In a multi-processor environment, an electronic coupon may be uploadedto two or more coupon processors. The two or more coupon processors mayor may not be in electronic communication with each other. Thus, in theevent that a first coupon processor authorizes the redemption of anelectronic coupon at a first POS terminal, a second coupon processor maybe unaware of the coupon redemption. This is undesirable at leastbecause the second coupon processor may subsequently authorize a secondPOS terminal to redeem the electronic coupon that has already beenredeemed at the first POS terminal. Thus, this invention includessystems and methods to assist a multi-processor environment to avoid thedouble redemption of a single coupon.

In such systems and methods, a plurality of coupon processors may pullupdated data relating to one or more customers from the electroniccoupon platform. In these embodiments, each of the plurality of couponprocessors may transmit an electronic request to the electronic couponplatform upon the expiration of a predetermined time period. Thepredetermined time period may be an hour, day, two days, or any othersuitable time period. The electronic request may be configured torequest updated customer data.

Upon receipt of the electronic requests from the plurality of couponprocessors, the electronic coupon platform may transmit updated customerdata to the requesting coupon processors. The updated customer data mayinclude customer data that the electronic coupon platform modified inone or more databases during the predetermined time period. The updatedcustomer data may also include electronic coupon data transmitted to theelectronic coupon platform from one or more coupon processors during thepredetermined time period. The updated customer data may further includecustomer data that one or more customers modified during thepredetermined time period. The customers may have modified the datausing the web-based portal in accordance with the systems and methods ofthe invention.

Exemplary electronic coupon data transmitted to the electronic couponplatform from a coupon processor may include data relating to aplurality of electronic coupons redeemed by a plurality of customers.The data relating to the redeemed electronic coupons may also includedata relating to the time of redemption, location of redemption, totalcost of goods being purchased, etc.

It should be noted that, upon receipt of the data from the electroniccoupon platform, each of coupon processors may identify one or morecustomer profiles to which the transmitted data relates. Each of thecoupon processors may then update and/or re-upload the identifiedcustomer profiles to include the transmitted data. In the embodiments inwhich the electronic coupon platform transmits to each coupon processora complete set of customer data for each customer profile stored in eachcoupon processor, each coupon processor may re-upload the customer datastored in its customer profile database upon receipt of the data.

In some embodiments of the invention, the electronic coupon platform maytransmit to each coupon processor electronic coupon data that relates toelectronic coupons that one or more point of sale terminals incommunication with the coupon processor are configured to redeem. Inother embodiments of the invention, the electronic coupon platform maytransmit to each coupon processor electronic coupon data relating to oneor more electronic coupons that the coupon processor may or may not beconfigured to redeem. In some of these embodiments, each couponprocessor may be configured to filter the data and only store datarelating to coupons that it is configured to redeem.

In the event that the electronic coupon platform is in communicationwith a plurality of coupon processors, one or more of the couponprocessors may be configured to send the electronic request for updatedcustomer data at different time periods. For example, in the event thatthe electronic coupon platform is in communication with ten couponprocessors, five of the coupon processors may transmit an electronicrequest to the electronic coupon platform at midday and five of thecoupon processors may transmit the request at midnight. This isdesirable at least because it decreases data traffic on thecommunications medium and enables the electronic coupon platform tosupply requested data without the danger of system overload.

In additional embodiments, the electronic coupon platform may transmitupdated customer data to a plurality of coupon processors upon theexpiration of a predetermined time period. The predetermined time periodmay be an hour, day, two days, or any other suitable time period. Theupdated customer data transmitted to the plurality of coupon processorsmay include electronic coupon data. The electronic coupon data mayrelate to coupon data that the electronic coupon platform updated in oneor more databases during the predetermined time period.

It should be noted that the updated customer data may be any type ofupdated customer data as described in the embodiments in which theelectronic coupon platform receives electronic requests from one or morecoupon processors for updated customer data.

It should additionally be noted that, upon receipt of the updatedcustomer data from the electronic coupon platform, each of couponprocessors may identify one or more customer profiles to which thetransmitted data relates. Each of the coupon processors may then updatethe identified customer profiles to include the transmitted data. In theembodiments where the electronic coupon platform transmits to eachcoupon processor a complete set of customer data for each customerprofile stored in each coupon processor, each coupon processor mayre-upload the customer data stored in its customer profile database uponreceipt of the data.

The systems and methods of the invention may include the electroniccoupon platform initiating a deposit of funds in a customer bank accountassociated with a customer at predetermined time intervals. Theelectronic coupon platform may initiate the deposit of funds in thecustomer bank account in the event that the electronic coupon platformreceived data from one or more coupon processors relating to theredemption of one or more electronic coupons by the customer associatedwith the customer bank account.

In some embodiments, the data relating to the redemption of one or moreelectronic coupons may include an electronic coupon identifierassociated with each of the redeemed electronic coupons. Each electroniccoupon identifier may be associated with a redemption value. The datarelating to the redemption of one or more electronic coupons may alsoinclude data associating the redeemed coupons with the customer thatinitiated the redemption of the redeemed coupons. For example, the datarelating to the electronic coupon identifier may include data thatrelates to a redemption value and/or that identifies the customer thatredeemed the electronic coupon.

Upon receipt of the data from a coupon processor relating to theredemption of one or more electronic coupons by the customer, theelectronic coupon platform may store the data and associate it with thecustomer. For example, this data may be stored in a customer profileassociated with the customer that redeemed the coupons. At predeterminedtime intervals, the electronic coupon platform may initiate a deposit offunds into a customer bank account associated with the customer. Thecustomer bank account may be a customer bank account selected by thecustomer during initiation of the coupon service.

It should be noted that the electronic coupon platform may be configuredto initiate a deposit of funds into a plurality of customer bankaccounts at the predetermined time intervals. Each of the customer bankaccounts may be associated with one of a plurality of customers enrolledin the coupon service. In these embodiments, the electronic couponplatform may include stored data relating to the redemption of one ormore electronic coupons by each of the plurality of customers. Theredemptions may have been executed during a predetermined time period.The deposit of funds into each customer bank account may correspond to asum total of the redemption values associated with the coupons redeemedby the customer associated with each customer bank account.

The electronic coupon platform may use a processor module to initiatethe deposit of funds into the customer account. The processor module mayalso be used to electronically calculate the amount of funds to bedeposited in the customer bank account.

In some embodiments, the calculation of the amount of funds to bedeposited into a customer account may include summing redemption valuesassociated with each distinct electronic coupon identifier associatedwith the customer's redeemed coupon data. In other embodiments, thecalculation of the redemption value may include removing allduplications of electronic coupon identifiers included in the storeddata associated with the customer's redeemed coupons and summing theredemption values associated with the remaining electronic couponidentifiers.

Thus, in the event that an electronic coupon identifier is includedtwice in the stored data relating to the customer's redeemed coupons,the customer will be credited only once for the redemption value of theredeemed coupon. Thus, the potential problem of double redemption isreduced using these systems and methods of the invention.

It should be noted that the systems and methods of the invention mayalso be used in the event that a coupon publisher allows a coupon to beused a predetermined number of times. In these embodiments, theelectronic coupon identifier relating to the coupon will be configuredto be included in the calculation of the amount of funds up to andincluding the predetermined number of times. In the event that thecustomer has redeemed the electronic coupon a number of times greaterthan the predetermined number of times, the systems and methods of theinvention may be used to ensure that the customer does not receivecredit for the redemptions that exceed the predetermined number. Thus,the systems and methods of the invention are configured to support anelectronic coupon according to relevant business guidelines.

In yet other embodiments, the electronic coupon platform may receivedata relating to a first electronic coupon and a second electroniccoupon redeemed by a customer at one or more coupon processors. The datamay include a first electronic coupon identifier associated with thefirst electronic coupon and a second electronic coupon identifierassociated with the second electronic coupon. The electronic couponplatform may store the data relating to the first electronic coupon in adatabase The database may be reserved for redeemed coupon data. Theelectronic coupon platform may associate the stored data with thecustomer.

In the event that the second electronic coupon identifier is differentfrom the first electronic coupon identifier, the electronic couponplatform may store data relating to the second electronic couponidentifier in the database. This stored data may also be associated withthe customer.

In some embodiments, in the event that the second electronic couponidentifier is substantially identical to the first electronic couponidentifier, and both identifiers are associated with the same customer,the electronic coupon platform may discard the data relating to thesecond coupon identifier. In other embodiments, the electronic couponplatform may store the data in a database different from the database inwhich the storage module stored the data relating to the firstelectronic coupon identifier. For example, instead of storing the datarelating to the second coupon identifier in a customer profile databaseor a redeemed coupon database, the electronic coupon platform may storethe data relating to the second coupon identifier in a ‘DOUBLEREDEMPTIONS’ database. This database may not be accessed whencalculating the amount of funds eligible to be deposited in one or morecustomer bank accounts.

In these embodiments, the calculation of an amount of funds to bedeposited into a customer account may include summing the redemptionvalues associated with each electronic coupon identifier stored in thedatabase and associated with the customer.

It should be noted that, upon completion of the deposit of funds in oneor more customer bank accounts, the electronic coupon platform may purgethe stored data relating to the redeemed electronic coupons. In otherembodiments, the electronic coupon platform may relocate the stored datato a historical database that stores coupon data for analyticalpurposes.

In yet other embodiments, the electronic coupon platform mayelectronically tag or otherwise associate the stored data relating tothe redeemed electronic coupons with, for example, an ‘INACTIVE’ status.Thus, during the next predetermined time interval, the electronic couponplatform may not include the coupons with the ‘INACTIVE’ status in theelectronic calculation of the amount of funds to be deposited in acustomer bank account.

Furthermore, it should be noted that upon completion of the deposit offunds in one or more customer bank accounts, the electronic couponplatform may transmit data to a plurality of coupon processors. The datamay notify the coupon processors of the electronic coupons that theelectronic coupon platform used to reimburse customers for theirredemption value.

In yet other embodiments, the systems and methods of the invention mayinclude transmitting an electronic notification from the electroniccoupon platform to a plurality of coupon processors. The electroniccoupon platform may be prompted to transmit an electronic notificationto a plurality of coupon processors in the event that the electroniccoupon platform receives data from a coupon processor relating to thereceipt of a loyalty card and/or payment instrument at a POS terminal.The loyalty card and/or payment instrument may be a loyalty card and/orpayment instrument identified during enrollment of a customer in thesystems and methods of the invention.

In these embodiments, a coupon processor may be in electroniccommunication with one or more POS terminals and the electronic couponplatform. The coupon processor may receive information from theelectronic coupon platform relating to one or more electronic couponselectronically selected and/or uploaded to a customer's web-based portalvia the systems and methods of the invention. In some embodiments, theelectronic coupons may be electronic coupons configured to be redeemedat the one or more POS terminals in electronic communication with thecoupon processor. The coupon processor may store the customerinformation in a customer profile database included in a couponprocessor memory.

A POS terminal in accordance with the systems and methods of theinvention may be configured to read information from a loyalty cardand/or payment instrument swiped at a POS terminal receiver. The POSterminal may be configured to substantially immediately or within apredetermined time window thereafter transmit data relating to thereceipt of the loyalty card and/or payment instrument to a couponprocessor. In some embodiments, the POS terminal may transmit theaforementioned information prior to the receipt of information relatingto goods that the customer desires to purchase. In other embodiments,the POS terminal may transmit the aforementioned information togetherwith product SKUs and/or UPCs of goods that the customer desires topurchase.

In the event that the coupon processor receives the information from thePOS terminal relating to the receipt of the loyalty card and/or paymentinstrument, the coupon processor may transmit this informationsubstantially immediately, or within a predetermined time window, to anelectronic coupon platform. It should be noted that in some embodiments,the coupon processor may transmit the information in the event that thecoupon processors determines that the loyalty card and/or paymentinstrument information is associated with a customer whose customerinformation is stored in the customer profile database.

It should be noted that, after transmitting the customer identificationinformation, the coupon processor may subsequently process data relatingto the goods that the customer desires to purchase. The coupon processormay then inform the POS terminal of any electronic coupons configured tobe applied to the goods. The coupon processor may then transmitinformation to the electronic coupon platform relating to the electroniccoupons redeemed on behalf of the customer at the POS terminal.

In response to the receipt of the information relating to the receipt ofthe loyalty card and/or payment instrument at the POS terminal, theelectronic coupon platform may transmit an electronic notification toone or more coupon processors.

In some embodiments, the one or more coupon processors may be couponprocessors that have information relating to the customer identified viathe loyalty card and/or payment instrument stored in a customer profiledatabase. In additional embodiments, the one or more coupon processorsmay be coupon processors grouped in a category that includes the couponprocessor that transmitted the data to the electronic coupon platform.For example, in the event that a coupon processor affiliated with ahardware store sends information to an electronic coupon platformrelating to the receipt of a loyalty card and/or payment instrument at aPOS terminal, the electronic coupon platform may transmit an electronicnotification to a plurality of coupon processors associated withhardware store merchandise.

Alternatively, each retailer within a coupon processor may be associatedwith a group. As such, various retailers across several processors mayform members of a single group. Or, in the alternative, some but not allretailers associated with a single processor may form all the members ofa single group. Any such permutation of members of group with respect tothe various processors is considered within the scope of this invention.

The electronic notification may include instructions. The instructionsmay instruct the coupon processors to associate the electronicnotification with a customer profile associated with the loyalty cardand/or payment instrument identified at the POS terminal. Theinstructions may also instruct the coupon processor to transmit anelectronic request for customer profile information to the electroniccoupon platform in the event that the coupon processor receivesinformation from a POS terminal relating to the receipt of loyalty cardand/or payment instrument information that identifies a customerassociated with the customer profile to which the electronicnotification has been associated.

In some embodiments, such instructions may be stored at the processor.In these embodiments, receipt of the electronic notification in additionto customer profile identification information may prompt the couponprocessors to associate the electronic notification with the identifiedcustomer profile. Once the coupon processor associates the electronicnotification with the electronic profile, the instructions may instructthe coupon processor to transmit an electronic request for customerprofile information to the electronic coupon platform in the event thatthe coupon processor receives information from a POS terminal relatingto the receipt of loyalty card and/or payment instrument informationthat identifies a customer associated with the customer profile to whichthe electronic notification has been associated.

In the event that the coupon processor transmits an electronic requestfor customer profile information to the electronic coupon platform, theelectronic coupon platform may transmit to the coupon processor theactive coupons associated with the customer profile. The couponprocessor may then update his customer profile data to includepreferably only the active coupons.

Upon completion of updating the customer profile data, the couponprocessor may subsequently be configured to identify one or more activeelectronic coupons eligible to be redeemed at the POS terminal on behalfof the customer. The coupon processor may execute this determinationbased on data transmitted from the POS terminal relating to goods thatthe customer desires to purchase.

For example, a first coupon processor may receive information from a POSterminal that a customer has identified himself. Thereafter, the firstcoupon processor may transmit a notification to an electronic couponplatform that the customer has identified himself to a POS terminalcoupled to the first coupon processor. This may cause the electroniccoupon platform to transmit an electronic notification to multiplecoupon processors alerting them that there has been a status change withrespect to the customer. The transmission of the electronic notificationmay alternatively be initiated if the customer uploads new coupons tohis customer account and/or if electronic coupons associated with thecustomer expire.

Such an electronic notification may prompt the other processors torequest updated customer information from the platform when the otherprocessors receive an identification of the customer at POS terminalsassociated with the respective processors.

Thereafter, the first coupon processor may receive information from aPOS terminal relating to one or more goods that the customer desires topurchase. The first coupon processor may identify one or more electroniccoupons that the POS terminal is eligible to redeem on behalf of thecustomer. The first coupon processor may subsequently update customerprofile data relating to the customer to reflect the redeemed status ofthe electronic coupons that the POS terminal redeemed.

The first coupon processor may then transmit information relating to theredeemed coupons to the electronic coupon platform. The electroniccoupon platform may update customer profile data relating to thecustomer to reflect the redeemed status of the electronic coupon—i.e.,that the redeemed coupons are now inactive. In certain embodiments, itshould be noted that such coupon redemption may or may not trigger anadditional electronic notification.

The coupon processors that receive the electronic notification mayassociate the electronic notification with customer profile datarelating to the customer who has identified himself at the POS terminal.In the event that one of the coupon processors receives information froma POS terminal that the customer has identified himself to the POSterminal, the electronic notification may prompt the coupon processor totransmit an electronic request to the electronic coupon platform forcustomer profile data associated with the customer. The coupon processormay transmit the electronic request to the coupon platform prior toreceiving information relating to goods that the customer desires topurchase.

In response to the request, the electronic coupon platform may transmitdata relating to the customer to the coupon processor. The data mayinclude active electronic coupons associated with the customer. Uponreceipt of the data, the coupon processor may subsequently updatecustomer profile data to include the active electronic couponsassociated with the customer. This update may include overwriting thedata relating to the customer's active coupons that was previouslystored in the coupon processor. This update may alternately includedeleting any previously stored coupon data that was not included in thedata transmitted from the electronic coupon platform.

Upon completion of updating the customer profile data, the couponprocessor may subsequently be configured to authorize a POS terminal toredeem coupons on behalf of the customer. Additionally, upon completionof updating the coupon processor data, the electronic notificationassociated with the customer profile data may be removed. The couponprocessor may subsequently inform the POS terminal of active couponsthat the POS terminal is eligible to redeem on behalf of the customer inthe event that the POS terminal transmits data to the coupon processorrelating to goods that the customer desires to purchase. It should benoted that, in certain embodiments, the POS terminal may or may not beblocked from redeeming coupons during the updating process.

Upon the expiration of a predetermined time period, such as a day, week,month, or any other suitable time period, the electronic coupon platformmay update customer profile data stored in one or more couponprocessors. The electronic coupon platform may update one or morecustomer profiles relating to one or more customers. The update mayinclude transmitting information relating to active electronic couponsassociated with one or more customer profiles. In the event that acoupon platform updates customer profile data in response to the receiptof updated customer profile data from the electronic coupon platform,any electronic notifications associated with the updated customerprofiles may be removed.

The electronic coupon platform may transmit updated customer profileinformation to coupon processors to which an electronic notificationrelating to the customer profile(s) has been transmitted. In someembodiments, the electronic coupon platform may transmit updatedcustomer profile data to coupon processors to which the electroniccoupon platform has transmitted a threshold number of electronicnotifications.

Furthermore, in certain embodiments, the electronic coupon platform mayupdate one or more customer profiles stored in an electronic couponplatform memory during a predetermined time period. In theseembodiments, upon the expiration of the predetermined time period, theelectronic coupon platform may transmit updated customer profile data tomultiple coupon processors, the updated customer profile data relatingto the customer profiles that the electronic coupon platform has updatedduring the predetermined time period.

It should be noted that the electronic coupon platform may transmit anyother suitable data to the coupon processors in addition to customerprofile data.

It should additionally be noted that, in some embodiments, thetransmission of electronic requests to the electronic coupon platformand/or the sending of updated customer data from the electronic couponplatform to a plurality of coupon processors, as described above, may beused to initiate the transmission of the customer profile data.

It should also be noted that, in the event that a customer modifiesinformation such as customer information and/or customer uploadedelectronic coupons via a web-based portal, the electronic couponplatform may transmit an electronic notification to one or more couponprocessors. The one or more coupon processors may be coupon processorsthat have customer profile data relating to the customer stored in adatabase. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the electronic couponplatform may transmit updated customer profile data to the one or morecoupon processors, the updated data including the customer modificationsexecuted via the web-based portal.

In yet other embodiments, the systems and methods of the invention mayinclude transmitting customer selection information to multiple couponprocessors. The customer selection information may relate to one or moreelectronic coupon selections executed by a customer on a web-basedportal in accordance with the systems and methods of the invention. Oneor more of the multiple coupon processors may be associated with aloyalty card program.

In some embodiments, a customer may select an electronic coupon on aweb-based portal. Substantially immediately thereafter, the web-basedportal may transmit data relating to the customer and the selectedelectronic coupon to a plurality of coupon processors. Each of theplurality of coupon processors may be in electronic communication withone or more POS terminals.

In additional embodiments, the customer may select one or moreelectronic coupons on a web-based portal and subsequently execute aselection submission indicating the completion of the customer'selectronic coupon selection. For example, the customer may select a‘FINISHED,’ ‘SUBMIT’ and/or ‘SUBMISSION’ button. Substantiallyimmediately thereafter, the web-based portal may transmit data relatingto the customer and the one or more selected electronic coupons to aplurality of coupon processors. Each of the plurality of couponprocessors may be in electronic communication with one or more POSterminals.

In some embodiments, the electronic coupon platform may transmit thedata to all coupon processors in electronic communication with theelectronic coupon platform. In other embodiments, the electronic couponplatform may transmit data relating to one or more electronic coupons tocoupon processors that are configured to redeem at least one of the oneor more electronic coupons. In further embodiments, the electroniccoupon platform may transmit to each of a plurality of coupon processorsdata relating to electronic coupons that each of the plurality of couponprocessors is configured to redeem.

These systems and methods may include associating each of the electroniccoupons offered on the web-based portal with one or more groups. Inthese embodiments, each of the coupon processors in electroniccommunication with the web-based portal may additionally be associatedwith one or more groups. Thus, in these embodiments, the electroniccoupon platform may transmit selected electronic coupon data at least tocoupon processors that are associated with least one of the groups withwhich the selected electronic coupons are associated.

For example, the web-based portal may associate a coupon for ascrewdriver with a ‘hardware’ group. The web-based portal mayadditionally associate three coupon processors in electroniccommunication with the web-based portal as being associated with a‘hardware’ group. Each of these three coupon processors may be incommunication with point of service terminals configured to redeem oneor more hardware-related items. Thus, in the event that a customerselects the coupon for the screwdriver, the web-based portal maytransmit information relating to the selected coupon and the customer toeach of the three coupon processors associated with the ‘hardware’group.

The association of an electronic coupon with a group may be accomplishedusing an electronic code, tag identifier, or any other suitableinformation. In these embodiments, the electronic coupons processor mayuse electronic information associated with the electronic coupon todetermine the coupon processors to which the electronic coupon is to besent.

These systems and methods may also include configuring coupon processorsto filter data received from an electronic coupon platform. In theseembodiments, the electronic coupon platform may transmit a batch ofelectronic coupons to a plurality of electronic coupon platforms, eachof the electronic coupons being associated with at least one customer.Each of the plurality of coupon processors may subsequently beconfigured to remove from the batch any electronic coupons that each ofthe plurality of coupon processors is not configured to redeem and/orthat do not relate to the customers stored in their database. Uponcompletion of filtering the data, each of the plurality of couponprocessors may store the remaining data in a customer profile database.

It should be noted that the systems and methods of the invention includemultiple embodiments of electronic coupon transmission, reception,filtering, modifying, applying, redeeming and deleting. Each methoddescribed in one embodiment of the invention may be combined with amethod described in a different embodiment of the invention to create asystem or method within the scope of the invention at hand.

It should additionally be noted that the electronic coupon platform maytransmit funds to one or more coupon processors upon the lapse of one ormore predetermined time periods. The amount of funds transmitted mayinclude a set fee and/or may be based on the coupons redeemed at thecoupon processors.

Illustrative embodiments of the invention will now be described withreference to FIGS. 1-16.

In the following description of the various embodiments, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and inwhich is shown by way of illustration various embodiments in which theinvention may be practiced. It is to be understood that otherembodiments may be utilized and structural and functional modificationsmay be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the presentinvention.

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art upon reading thefollowing disclosure, various aspects described herein may be embodiedas a method, a data processing system, or a computer program product.Accordingly, those aspects may take the form of an entirely hardwareembodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combiningsoftware and hardware aspects.

Furthermore, such aspects may take the form of a computer programproduct stored by one or more computer-readable storage media havingcomputer-readable program code, or instructions, embodied in or on thestorage media. Any suitable computer readable storage media may beutilized, including hard disks, CD-ROMs, optical storage devices,magnetic storage devices, and/or any combination thereof. In addition,various signals representing data or events as described herein may betransferred between a source and a destination in the form ofelectromagnetic waves traveling through signal-conducting media such asmetal wires, optical fibers, and/or wireless transmission media (e.g.,air and/or space).

FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates a generic computing device101 (alternatively referred to herein as a “server”) that may be usedaccording to an illustrative embodiment of the invention. For example,generic computing device 101 may be used to support one or morefunctions of a point of sale device, coupon processor, and/or electroniccoupon platform according to the invention. The computer server 101 mayhave a processor 103 for controlling overall operation of the server andits associated components, including RAM 105, ROM 107, input/outputmodule 109, and memory 115.

Input/output (“I/O”) module 109 may include a microphone, keypad, touchscreen, and/or stylus through which a user of device 101 may provideinput, and may also include one or more of a speaker for providing audiooutput and a video display device for providing textual, audiovisualand/or graphical output. Software may be stored within memory 115 and/orstorage to provide instructions to processor 103 for enabling server 101to perform various functions. For example, memory 115 may store softwareused by server 101, such as an operating system 117, applicationprograms 119, and an associated database 111. Alternatively, some or allof server 101 computer executable instructions may be embodied inhardware or firmware (not shown). As described in detail below, database111 may provide storage for enrolled customer information, paymentinstrument and/or loyalty card information, electronic coupon offerinformation, customer selections of electronic coupons, redeemedelectronic coupons and/or any other suitable information.

Server 101 may operate in a networked environment supporting connectionsto one or more remote computers, such as terminals 141 and 151.Terminals 141 and 151 may be personal computers or servers that includemany or all of the elements described above relative to server 101. Thenetwork connections depicted in FIG. 1 include a local area network(LAN) 125 and a wide area network (WAN) 129, but may also include othernetworks. When used in a LAN networking environment, computer 101 isconnected to LAN 125 through a network interface or adapter 113. Whenused in a WAN networking environment, server 101 may include a modem 127or other means for establishing communications over WAN 129, such asInternet 131. It will be appreciated that the network connections shownare illustrative and other means of establishing a communications linkbetween the computers may be used. The existence of any of variouswell-known protocols such as TCP/IP, Ethernet, FTP, HTTP and the like ispresumed, and the system can be operated in a client-serverconfiguration to permit a user to retrieve web pages from a web-basedserver. Any of various conventional web browsers can be used to displayand manipulate data on web pages.

Additionally, application program 119, which may be used by server 101,may include computer executable instructions for invoking userfunctionality related to communication, such as email, short messageservice (SMS), and voice input and speech recognition applications.

Computing device 101 and/or terminals 141 or 151 may also be mobileterminals including various other components, such as a battery,speaker, and antennas (not shown).

Terminal 151 and/or terminal 141 may be portable devices such as alaptop, cell phone, blackberry, or any other suitable device forstoring, transmitting and/or transporting relevant information.

Data related to enrolled customer information, payment instrument and/orloyalty card information, electronic coupon offer information, customerselections of electronic coupons, redeemed electronic coupons and/or anyother suitable information may be stored in memory 115.

The invention may be operational with numerous other general purpose orspecial purpose computing system environments or configurations.Examples of well known computing systems, environments, and/orconfigurations that may be suitable for use with the invention include,but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-heldor laptop devices, mobile phones and/or other personal digitalassistants (“PDAs”), multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-basedsystems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs,minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing environmentsthat include any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

The invention may be described in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines,programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that performparticular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Theinvention may also be practiced in distributed computing environmentswhere tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linkedthrough a communications network. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotecomputer storage media including memory storage devices.

FIG. 2 shows illustrative kiosk 200. Kiosk 200 may be a kiosk thatperforms tasks in connection with enrollment of customers in a couponservice, distribution of electronic coupons to customers and any othersuitable tasks. Kiosk 200 may be placed in a location that is convenientfor customers to use before or during shopping activities in connectionwith merchant M. Kiosk 200 may perform one or more of the tasksassociated with step 706 (shown in FIG. 7) or any other suitable tasks.In particular, kiosk 200 may be used to allow a customer to enroll in acoupon service or to view, print or download electronic couponinformation so that a customer can receive benefits, includingelectronic coupons, in connection with purchases from merchant M.

Kiosk 200 may include touch screen display 202 for displayinginstructions, electronic coupon information and any other suitableinformation to customer C. Kiosk 200 may include printer 212 forprinting electronic coupon information, such as selected electroniccoupon information, and other suitable information. Kiosk 200 mayinclude card reader 204 for reading a loyalty card and/or a purchasinginstrument, such as a credit or debit card. The loyalty card and/orpurchasing instrument may be swipeable and/or contactless. Kiosk 200 mayinclude near field communication module 206 for communicating with anNFC-equipped purchasing instrument such as a cellular telephone. Kiosk200 may include processor 208 for encoding data from the loyalty cardand/or purchasing instrument. Kiosk 200 may include communicationsmodule 210 for exchanging the encoded data and any other received datavia an electronic communication network with a coupon processor and/oran electronic coupon platform.

In some embodiments, some or all of the functions of kiosk 200 may bepresent in a self-service device such as an automatic teller machine(“ATM”), a ticket- or token-vending machine, an information dispensingmachine (such as are found in public transportation stations, such astrain and bus stations and airports) and/or a web-based portalaccessible via the internet.

FIGS. 3-4 show illustrative views for display to customer C at a kiosksuch as kiosk 200 (shown in FIG. 2), on a web-based portal in accordancewith the systems and methods of the invention, or on some other suitablescreen. The illustrative views illustrated in FIGS. 3-4 may offercustomer C an opportunity to view electronic coupons to which customer Cmay be entitled, to enroll in a coupon service and/or to presentselectable electronic coupons for customer C to select. In the eventthat customer C selects an electronic coupon, customer C may enable theredemption of the electronic coupon at one or more POS terminals in theevent that customer C swipes a payment instrument and/or loyalty cardenrolled in the coupon service at the POS terminal.

It should be noted that some customer-interactive aspects of the currentinvention involve the use of swipeable cards. It will be understood thatswipeable cards such as a credit card and/or loyalty card are discussedherein as an example of a purchasing instrument and that any suitablepurchasing instrument may be used.

FIG. 3 shows a graphical display. The graphical display may be includedin a web-based portal in accordance with the invention.

The graphical display shown in FIG. 3 may include text 302 that invitescustomer C to enroll in a coupons service. Text 302 may be selectable.Upon selection of text 302, a second graphical display (not shown) mayprompt customer C to input payment instrument information, loyalty cardinformation, customer C information, or other suitable information. Thegraphical display may then identify electronic coupons available tocustomer C by communicating with an electronic coupon platform. Thegraphical display may display textual, graphical or audiorepresentations (not shown) of the electronic coupon offers. Thegraphical display may provide customer C with an opportunity to requesta hardcopy version of the electronic coupon offers.

FIG. 4 shows an additional graphical display. The graphical display maybe included in a web-based portal in accordance with the invention.

The graphical display shown in FIG. 4 may be displayed to a customer Cin response to an electronic selection executed by customer C. Thegraphical display shown in FIG. 4 shows electronic coupon information402. Electronic coupon information 402 may include for each electroniccoupon 404 quantity 406, item identifier 408, regular price 410,discounted price 412 and location in store (“AISLE”) (not shown). Anyother suitable information may be included.

FIG. 5 shows illustrative apparatus 500 for transmission and redemptionof electronic coupons electronically selected by a customer N via aweb-based portal in accordance with the systems and methods of theinvention. The selected electronic coupons may be associated with acustomer N customer profile. The customer N customer profile may bestored in a database included in electronic coupon platform 502.Electronic coupon platform 502 may be in electronic communication withone or more of coupon processors 512, 520 and/or 526.

In illustrative apparatus 500, customer N may receive electronic couponinformation from electronic coupon platform 502. Customer N may view theelectronic coupon information via coupon campaigns 504. The electroniccoupon information may include information relating to electroniccoupons such as discounted products, offering merchants, locations,discount amounts, offer terms (including, for example, a period ofvalidity, identities of participating merchants and the like) and othersuitable information.

Customer N may select one or more electronic coupons displayed in couponcampaigns 504, Selection of the one or more electronic coupons displayedin coupon campaigns 504 may result in the selected electronic coupon(s)being loaded onto and stored in customer N coupon loads 506. Electroniccoupon platform 502 may also include customer N redemptions 510.

In the event that one or more of the loaded coupons are configured to beused at POS terminal 518, information relating to the one or morecoupon(s) and customer N may be transmitted from electronic couponplatform 502 to coupon processor 512. Coupon processor 512 may store thetransmitted information in customer profiles 514. The stored informationmay be associated with a customer N customer profile included incustomer profiles 514.

In the embodiments in which electronic coupon platform 502 is inelectronic communication with coupon processor 520, electronic couponplatform 502 may transmit to coupon processor 520 information relatingto loaded coupon(s) configured to be redeemed at POS terminal 524.Coupon processor 520 may store the transmitted data in a customerprofile database and associate the stored data with an appropriatecustomer profile. For example, a loaded coupon may be configured to beredeemed at POS terminal 524 in the event that a customer N profile isincluded in coupon processor 520's customer profile database. In otherembodiments, a loaded coupon may be configured to be redeemed at POSterminal 524 in the event that a merchant location at which POS terminal524 is located offers for sale the items(s) to which the loadedcoupon(s) are configured to be applied. Coupon processor 520 may be inelectronic communication with POS terminal 524 via electroniccommunication network 527.

In the embodiments in which electronic coupon platform 502 is inelectronic communication with coupon processor 526, electronic couponplatform 502 may transmit to coupon processor 526 information relatingloaded coupon(s) that are configured to be redeemed at POS terminal 530.Coupon processor 526 may store the transmitted data in a customerprofile database and associate the stored data with an appropriatecustomer profile Coupon processor 526 may be in electronic communicationwith POS terminal 530 via electronic communication network 528.

Customer N may subsequently purchase one or more items at POS terminal518. Prior to the purchase of the goods, customer N may swipe apurchasing instrument and/or loyalty card at POS terminal 518. POSterminal 518 may subsequently transmit information relating to the goodsthat customer N desires to purchase, in addition to purchasinginstrument and/or loyalty card information included on the swiped card,to coupon processor 512. POS terminal 518 may transmit the informationvia electronic communication network 516.

Upon receipt of the data from POS terminal 518, coupon processor 512 maydetermine if the purchasing instrument and/or loyalty card informationidentifies a customer stored in customer profiles 514. In the event thatcustomer N swiped the purchasing instrument/loyalty card whoseinformation is stored in customer N purchasing instrument/loyalty cardinformation 508, coupon processor 512 may identify customer N as thepurchasing customer, Coupon processor 512 may subsequently determine ifthe electronic coupons stored in customer N's customer profile 514 areconfigured to be applied to one or more items that customer N desires topurchase.

Coupon processor 512 may inform POS terminal 518 of customer Nelectronic coupons eligible to be redeemed and/or a discount to beapplied to one or more goods that customer N desires to purchase. POSterminal 518 then may then adjust the purchase price of customer N'sgoods accordingly.

Customer N may also purchase one or more items at POS terminals 524and/or 530. The method for coupon identification and/or redemption atPOS 524 may be executed using one or more of the steps described abovefor coupon identification and/or redemption at POS terminal 518.

FIG. 6 shows illustrative apparatus 600 for transmission of electroniccoupons from a coupon processor such as coupon processor 602 to acustomer such as customer M and for transmission of customer informationfrom customer M to a POS terminal such as POS terminal 604. POS terminal604 may be an internet protocol based POS terminal.

In apparatus 600, coupon processor 602 may transmit to customer Melectronic coupons offer notifications and electronic couponinformation. The electronic coupon offer notifications may betransmitted using a protocol that requires validation of customer M'sidentity. Customer M's identity may be encoded in mobile wallet 606,which may be present in electronic purchasing instrument 612. Electronicpurchasing instrument 612 may be in a cellular telephone and may be incommunication with the operating system of the cellular telephone.

Mobile wallet 606 may include secure identification information thatassociates customer M with customer M's personal and credit information.The notifications may include information regarding discounted products,offering merchants, locations, discount amounts and other suitableinformation. It should be noted that the systems and methods of theinvention include mobile wallets described in patent application Ser.No. 12/362,565, entitled ELECTRONIC WALLET (“eWallet”), filed Jan. 30,2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Coupon processor 602 may select the offers for which to send thenotifications based on an account established for customer M on couponprocessor 602. Customer M may view the notifications on a display (notshown) on electronic purchasing instrument 612. Customer M may selectelectronic coupons that he desires to use in connection with a purchase.The mobile wallet may send an electronic communication to couponprocessor 602 relating to the selected electronic.

When customer M purchases one or more items from a merchant, customer Mmay present electronic purchasing instrument 612 to the merchant.Electronic purchasing instrument 612 may include transaction module 608.Transaction module 608 may include instructions and protocols forexchanging customer, offer, electronic coupon, transaction and any othersuitable information with POS terminal 604. Electronic purchasinginstrument 612 may include near field communication (“NFC”) module 610for wireless communication of the customer, offer, electronic coupon,transaction and/or other suitable information with POS terminal 604.

POS terminal 604 may use some or all of the customer, offer, electroniccoupon, transaction and other suitable information to recalculate pricesthat customer M will pay for goods being purchased. Alternately, POSterminal 604 may use the customer and/or transaction information tocommunicate with coupon processor 602 to determine if there are anyselected electronic coupons available to adjust the price of customerM's pending purchase.

POS terminal 604 may communicate with coupon processor 602 viaelectronic communication network 614. Electronic communication network614 may be the Internet. POS terminal 604 may communicate with couponprocessor 602 to validate the validity of information such as electroniccoupon information and other suitable information. POS terminal 604 maycommunicate with coupon processor 602 to verify or determine if customerM is entitled to one or more electronic coupons. POS terminal 604 mayadditionally communicate with coupon processor 602 to verify theidentity of the entity that is to pay for the value of the offer (e.g.,a product manufacturer). POS terminal 604 may further communicate withcoupon processor 602 to notify the paying entity about the transaction.

FIG. 7 shows illustrative process 700 for enrollment of a loyalty cardand/or a purchasing instrument and establishment of communicationmethods for communicating electronic coupons to a customer. The verticalpaths in the flow diagram show primary processes and the horizontalpaths show related sub-processes.

Process 700 shows two parallel methods for loyalty card and/orpurchasing instrument enrollment. At steps 701 through 705, the loyaltycard and/or purchasing instrument are enrolled via a web-based portal inaccordance with the systems and methods of the invention. The web-basedportal may be associated with the purchasing instrument provider. Atsteps 706 through 709, the loyalty card and/or purchasing instrument areenrolled via a kiosk. The kiosk may be associated with the loyalty cardprovider.

At step 701, a customer accesses an enrollment website via the web-basedportal. At step 702, the customer enters customer information includingloyalty card/purchasing instrument information. At step 703, loyaltycard/purchasing instrument information is verified by card issuer orvendor. At step 704, the customer selects a communication method for thecommunication of electronic coupons. More than one communication methodmay be selected. At step 705, the communication method preferences arestored.

In some embodiments, the communication method may support bidirectionalcommunication between the web-based portal and the customer. Theweb-based portal may transmit, via the selected communication method(s),electronic coupon information to the customer. The customer may selectone or more of the electronic coupons. Appropriate apparatus (such as apersonal computer, a cell phone, a PDA, a kiosk, an ATM or any othersuitable apparatus) may transmit information relating to the selectedcoupons to the web-based portal. The web-based portal may storeinformation relating to the selected coupons.

In an alternative enrollment process, at step 706, a customer accessesan in-store kiosk at a participating retailer. At step 707, the customerenters customer information by swiping the magnetic stripe of a loyaltycard and/or purchasing instrument in a card reader. At step 708, thecustomer selects a communication method. At step 709, the communicationmethod preferences are stored.

A more detailed illustration of the communication of electronic couponsfrom the coupon processor to the customer is detailed at steps 710through 713.

At step 710, electronic coupon offers are compiled by the web-basedportal. At step 711, the list of coupon offers is transmitted to thecustomer. Process 700 includes three illustrative methods oftransmission: making the list available on the web-based portal, sendingthe list in an email message, or sending a text message to a mobiledevice. At step 712, the customer may select electronic coupons forapplication. The selected coupons are stored in a database andelectronically transmitted to one or more coupon processors. At step713, the coupons are available for application at one or more POSterminals in electronic communication with the one or more couponprocessors. Coupon discounts associated with the selected coupons areapplied when the enrolled purchasing instrument and/or loyalty card isused for a purchase at the one or more POS terminals and itemsassociated with the selected coupons are presented for purchase.

FIG. 8 shows high level process 800 illustrating the entities involvedin customer electronic coupon publication, selection and redemption. Theprimary entities identified in process 800 may be companies, individualsor technological processes.

Entity 801 is an advertiser. Entity 802 is a coupon processor. Couponoffers from various advertisers may be compiled on the coupon processor.Sources for coupon offers include manufacturers, retailers andcommercial coupon sources. Entity 803 is a publisher of coupon offers.The publisher may be a payment card provider that provides a couponservice designed for its payment card users. For example, the publishermay be a bank that publishes coupons for account holders enrolling in abank issued debit or credit card. The publisher may utilize anelectronic coupons platform and/or a web-based portal in accordance withthe systems and methods of the invention to inform a customer of couponsreceived from the coupon processor.

Entity 804 is a customer with a debit or credit card. The customer mayenroll the card in the coupons service and choose a communication methodto receive the published coupons. Entity 805 is a retailer location. Thecustomer may use the enrolled payment card at the retailer location totrigger application of coupons. Entity 806 is a retail processor. Theretailer processor may be a point of sale terminal (POS) located atentity 805 (the retailer location). Coupons may be processed forredemption and settlement by the point of sale terminal or may beelectronically transmitted directly to the coupon processor forredemption and settlement. Feedback regarding coupon redemption may betransmitted back to the advertiser 801.

FIG. 9 shows illustrative process 900 outlining a purchase at a POSterminal where electronic coupons are applied. In illustrative process900, the purchasing instrument is a debit card. Process 900 maycorrespond in whole or in part to a portion of the process illustratedin FIG. 7.

At step 901, the customer visits a participating retailer. At step 902the customer selects products for purchase. At step 903, the productsare checked out at a POS terminal. The POS terminal may process anypaper coupons and store loyalty card discounts may be applied. At step904, the customer may swipe a debit card for payment. At step 905A,debit card information may be encrypted. At step 905B, SKUs may beevaluated. At step 905C, debit card information and the product SKUs maybe electronically transmitted from the POS terminal to a couponprocessor. The coupon processor may comprise a database includinginformation relating to customer-selected electronic coupons.

At step 906, the coupon processor associates the encrypted cardinformation with a customer profile relating to the customer at the POSterminal and verifies the product SKUs. In a sub-process, the couponprocessor disables coupons available to be applied to the customerpurchase at step 907 and prepares the coupons for settlement at step908.

The primary process continues at step 909. At step 909, the couponprocessor transmits details of electronic coupons to be redeemed to thePOS terminal. At step 910, the POS terminal accepts the details of thediscount and adjusts prices or totals for the items purchased. At step911, the customer is provided with a receipt showing the discountsattributable to the applied electronic coupons.

FIG. 10 shows illustrative process 1000 for the settlement of redeemedelectronic coupons. At step 1001 redeemed coupon offers stored on thecoupon processor are ready for settlement. At step 1002, the redeemedcoupon data is transmitted to a clearing house. At step 1003, thecoupons are processed and the payment for retailers is allocated.Retailers may be reimbursed for the face value of the coupons.Alternatively, retailers may be reimbursed for a previously-agreed uponvalue that is different from the face value of the coupon. At step 1004,the offers are settled. At step 1005, payment is transmitted from thecoupon processor to the retailers. At step 1006, payment is transmittedto partners participating in providing the coupon offers. At step 1007,redemption data is transmitted to offer analytics and stored on theplatform for use in directing future coupon offers to the customer.

It should be noted that in other embodiments the redeemed coupon datamay additionally and/or alternatively be transmitted to an electroniccoupon platform. In some of these embodiments, the electronic couponsplatform may perform one or more of steps 1001-1007 associated with thesettlement of redeemed electronic coupons.

FIG. 11 shows illustrative process 1100 in accordance with systems andmethods of the invention. Illustrative process 1100 may include elements1102-1120. Element 1102 may represent a coupon processor. The couponprocessor may be in electronic communication with retailers A-C,illustrated in elements 1116, 1118 and 1120, respectively. Retailers A-Cmay be POS terminals located at one or more retail stores.

Element 1104 may represent an electronic coupon platform. The electroniccoupon platform may be supported by financial institution A. Electroniccoupon platform 1104 may support multiple functionalities, includingcoupon campaigns 1106, customer A loads 1108, customer A redemptions1110 and storage of customer A savings history 1112.

Illustrative process 1100 may be a process that includes one or more ofsteps 1-7. Coupon campaigns 1106 may receive coupons from couponprocessor 1102 at step 1. Customer A, represented by element 1114, mayload coupons onto a database associated with customer A loads 1108 atstep 2. Coupon processor 1102 may be notified of the load at step 3.Upon notification of the load at step 3, coupon processor 1102 may storedata relating to customer A's loaded coupons in a customer profiledatabase. The stored data may be associated with a customer A profile.The customer profile database may include multiple customer profiles.

Customer A may go shopping at a retail location associated with one ofretailers A-C at step 4. One of retailers A-C may send store transactiondata (such as receipt of a loyalty card and/or payment instrument,purchase details, coupon redemption data, etc.) to coupon processor 1102at step 5. Coupon processor 1102 may transmit redemption data tocustomer A redemptions 1110 at step 6. The redemption data may relate toelectronic coupons stored in customer A's customer profile that havebeen redeemed via customer A's purchase at one of retailers A-C.

At step 7, customer A may view redemption data relating to coupons thatcustomer A uploaded to customer A loads 1108 and subsequently redeemedat one or more of retailers A-C. At step 7, customer A may additionallyreceive credit in an account associated with financial institution A.The credit may relate to the sum of the redemption values associatedwith each redeemed coupon.

FIG. 12 shows illustrative process 1200 in accordance with systems andmethods of the invention. Illustrative process 1200 may include elements1202-1224. Element 1202 may represent coupon processor 1 and element1204 may represent coupon processor 2. Coupon processor 2 may be inelectronic communication with retailer D, illustrated in element 1204.Retailer D may be may be a POS terminal located at a retail store.Coupon processor 1 may be in electronic communication with retailersA-C, illustrated in elements 1218, 1220 and 1222, respectively.Retailers A-C may be POS terminals located at one or more retail stores.

Element 1206 may represent an electronic coupon platform. The electroniccoupon platform may be supported by financial institution A. Theelectronic coupon platform may support multiple functionalities,including coupon campaigns 1208, customer A loads 1210, customer Aredemptions 1212, and storage of customer A savings history 1214.

Illustrative process 1200 may be a process that includes one or more ofsteps 1-7. Coupon campaigns 1208 may receive coupons from couponprocessor 2 at step 1A. Coupon campaigns 1208 may receive coupons fromcoupon processor 1 at step 1B. Customer A, represented by element 1216,may load coupons onto a database associated with customer A loads 1210at step 2. Coupon processors 1 and 2 may be notified of the load at step3. Upon notification of the load at step 3, coupon processors 1 and 2may store data relating to customer A's loaded coupons in a customerprofile associated with customer A. The data may be stored in a customerprofile database that includes multiple customer profiles.

Customer A may go shopping at a retail location associated with retailerD at step 4A. Retailer D may send store transaction data (such asreceipt of the loyalty card and/or payment instrument, purchase details,etc.) to coupon processor 2 at step 5A. Coupon processor 2 may transmitredemption data to customer A redemptions 1212 at step 6A. Theredemption data may relate to electronic coupons stored in customer A'scustomer profile that are eligible to be redeemed based on customer A'spurchase at retailer D. Customer A may additionally choose to goshopping at a retail location associated with one of retailers A-C instep 4B. One of retailers A-C may send store transaction data (such asreceipt of the loyalty card and/or payment instrument, purchase details,etc.) to coupon processor 1 at step 5B. Coupon processor 1 may transmitredemption data to customer A redemptions 1212 at step 6B. Theredemption data may relate to electronic coupons stored in customer A'scustomer profile that are eligible to be redeemed based on customer A'spurchase at one of retailers A-C.

At step 7, financial institution A may compute a customer A redemptionvalue based on the redemption data received from coupon processors 1 and2. The customer A redemption value may be credited to a customer Aaccount. Financial institution A may use the systems and methods of theinvention to ensure that, in the event that customer A purchased an itemat one of retailers A-C and purchased the same item at retailer D,customer A does not receive credit twice for a coupon eligible to beredeemed via the purchase of the item.

In some embodiments, in the event that financial institution Adetermines that redemption data received from a coupon processor iseligible to be used in computing the customer A redemption value,financial institution A may inform the coupon processor of theeligibility of the data. Additionally, in some embodiments, in the eventthat financial institution A determines that redemption data receivedfrom a coupon processor is ineligible to be used in computing thecustomer A redemption value, financial institution A may inform thecoupon processor of the ineligibility status of the data.

At step 8, customer A may view the savings credited to a customer Aaccount by financial institution A. Financial institution A may creditthe customer A savings account by depositing a value of fundscorresponding to the customer A redemption value in the customer Aaccount.

FIG. 13 shows illustrative process 1300 in accordance with systems andmethods of the invention. Illustrative process 1300 may include one ormore of steps 1-4 included in illustrative process 1200.

Illustrative process 1300 may include elements 1202-1214 and element1224 illustrated in illustrative process 1200. Illustrative process 1300may also include electronic coupon platform 1302. Electronic couponplatform 1302 may be an interface included in the electronic couponplatform supported by financial institution A. Electronic couponplatform 1302 may be in electronic communication with, or an integralpart of, coupon campaigns 1208, customer A loads 1210, customer Aredemptions 1212, and/or storage of customer A savings history 1214.

Illustrative process 1300 may additionally include coupon processors 3and 4, represented by elements 1304 and 1306, respectively. Couponprocessors 3 and 4 may be in electronic communication with one or morePOS terminals at one or more retail locations (not shown).

Retailer D may send store transaction data (such as receipt of a loyaltycard and/or payment instrument, purchase details, coupon redemptiondata, etc.) to coupon processor 2 at step 5A1. Coupon processor 2 mayinform retailer D of uploaded coupons to be redeemed at step 5A2. Couponprocessor 2 may subsequently update customer A information stored in acoupon processor 2 database. Coupon processor 2 may transmit redemptiondata to customer A redemptions 1212 at step 6A. It should be noted thatin other embodiments, coupon processor 2 may transmit the redemptiondata to electronic coupon platform 1302.

Upon the expiration of a predetermined time period, coupon processors 1,3 and 4 may request updates for customers in their network fromelectronic coupon platform 1302 at step 7. It should be noted that, inresponse to the coupon processors' request for updates, electroniccoupon platform 1302 may transmit customer data to each of the couponprocessors. The transmitted data may include the redemption data thatthe electronic coupon platform received from coupon processor 2, inaddition to any other redemption data that the electronic couponplatform received during the predetermined time period. In someembodiments, the transmitted data may also include data that thecustomer has modified during the predetermined time period. The customermay have modified the data using customer A loads 1310 and/or aweb-based portal in accordance with the systems and methods of theinvention. Upon receipt of the transmitted data, each of couponprocessors 1, 3 and 4 may update their data based on the received data.

FIG. 14 shows illustrative process 1400 in accordance with systems andmethods of the invention. Illustrative process 1400 may include one ormore of steps 1-4 included in illustrative process 1200.

Illustrative process 1400 may include elements 1202-1214 and element1224 illustrated in illustrative process 1200. Illustrative process 1400may also include electronic coupon platform 1402. Electronic couponplatform 1402 may be an interface included in the electronic couponplatform supported by financial institution A. Electronic couponplatform 1402 may be in electronic communication with, or an integralpart of, coupon campaigns 1208, customer A loads 1210, customer Aredemptions 1212, and/or storage of customer A savings history 1214.

Illustrative process 1400 may additionally include coupon processors 3and 4, represented by elements 1404 and 1406, respectively. Couponprocessors 3 and 4 may be in electronic communication with one or morePOS terminals at one or more retail locations (not shown).

Retailer D may send store transaction data (such as receipt of a loyaltycard and/or payment instrument, purchase details, coupon redemptiondata, etc.) to coupon processor 2 at step 5A1. Coupon processor 2 mayinform retailer D of uploaded coupons to be redeemed at step 5A2. Couponprocessor 2 may subsequently update customer A information stored in acoupon processor 2 database to include the redeemed status of theuploaded coupons configured to be redeemed at retailer D. Couponprocessor 2 may also transmit redemption data to customer A redemptions1212 at step 6A. It should be noted that in other embodiments, couponprocessor 2 may transmit the redemption data to electronic couponplatform 1402.

The electronic coupon platform may push data to coupon processors 1, 3and 4 at step 7. The electronic coupon platform may push the data uponthe expiration of a predetermined time period. The transmitted data mayinclude the redemption data that the electronic coupon platform receivedfrom coupon processor 2, in addition to any other redemption data thatthe electronic coupon platform received during the predetermined timeperiod. In some embodiments, the transmitted data may also include datathat the customer has modified during the predetermined time period. Thecustomer may have modified the data using customer A loads 1210 and/or aweb-based portal in accordance with the systems and methods of theinvention. It should be noted that, upon receipt of the data from theelectronic coupon platform, each of coupon processors 1, 3 and 4 updatedata relating to customer A in a customer profile database.

FIG. 15 shows illustrative process 1500 in accordance with systems andmethods of the invention. Illustrative process 1500 may include one ormore of steps 1-4 included in illustrative process 1200.

Illustrative process 1500 may include elements 1202-1214 and element1224 illustrated in illustrative process 1200. Illustrative process 1500may also include electronic coupon platform 1502. Electronic couponplatform 1502 may be an interface included in the electronic couponplatform supported by financial institution A. Electronic couponplatform 1502 may be in electronic communication with, or an integralpart of, coupon campaigns 1208, customer A loads 1210, customer Aredemptions 1212, and/or customer A savings history 1214.

Illustrative process 1500 may additionally include coupon processors 3and 4, illustrated by elements 1504 and 1506, respectively. Couponprocessors 3 and 4 may be in electronic communication with one or morePOS terminals at one or more retail locations (not shown).

At step 5, retailer D may send data relating to the receipt of customerA's loyalty card and/or payment instrument to coupon processor 2. Atstep 6, coupon processor 2 may transmit the data received from retailerD to the electronic coupon platform. At step 7, the electronic couponplatform may transmit an electronic notification to associate withcustomers A's electronic account. The electronic coupon platform maytransmit the notification to coupon processors 1, 3 and 4. Theelectronic coupon platform may transmit the electronic message inresponse to the data received from coupon processor 2. The associationof the electronic notification to customer A's electronic account mayresult in coupon processors 1, 3 and 4 transmitting an electronicrequest for customer A information to the electronic coupon platform inthe event that the coupon processors receive information from a POSterminal relating to the receipt of customer A's loyalty card and/orpayment instrument information.

FIG. 16 shows illustrative process 1600 in accordance with systems andmethods of the invention. Illustrative process 1600 may include elements1602-1620. Elements 1602, 1604, 1606 and 1608 may represent couponprocessors 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Each of coupon processors 1-4may be in electronic communication with one or more POS terminals at oneor more retail locations (not shown).

Element 1610 may represent an electronic coupon platform. The electroniccoupon platform may be supported by financial institution A. Theelectronic coupon platform may support multiple functionalities,including coupon campaigns 1612, customer A loads 1614, customer Aredemptions 1616 and storage of customer A savings history 1618.Electronic coupon platform 1610 may additionally include electroniccoupon platform 1620. In some embodiments, electronic coupon platform1620 may be an interface included in electronic coupon platform 1610that is in electronic communication with elements 1612-1618 and isconfigured to communicate with coupon processors 1-4.

Illustrative process 1600 may be a process that includes one or more ofsteps 1-3. Illustrative process 1600 may begin at step 1. Couponcampaigns 1612 may receive coupons from coupon processor 1 at step 1612.Customer A may load coupons onto customer A loads 1614 at step 2.Electronic coupon platform 1620 may notify coupon processors 1-4 of thecustomer load at step 3. The notification may occur substantiallyimmediately after customer A loads the coupons at step 2.

One or more of coupon processors 1602, 1604, 1606 and 1608 may begrouped in a category that includes the coupon processor thattransmitted the data to the electronic coupon platform. As such, when acoupon processor affiliated with a first grouping and/or otheridentification sends information to an electronic coupon platformrelating to the receipt of a loyalty card and/or payment instrument at aPOS terminal, the electronic coupon platform may transmit an electronicnotification to a plurality of coupon processors associated with thesame grouping. Accordingly, processing and/or other system overhead maybe reduced by only transmitting notifications to selected retailers.

Such selection may be system-defined or user-defined. For example, thesystem may have predetermined codes that group certain retailers and/orprocessors in categories. Alternatively, a user may group certainretailers and/or processors in categories. In such embodiments, couponsand/or electronic notifications may be selectively distributed to theretailers and/or processors. Such selective distribution may beaccording to either the grouping associated with the retailers and/orprocessors, the identifications associated with the coupons or somecombination of the two.

Thus, apparatus and methods for distributing and redeeming electroniccoupons are provided. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate thatthe present invention can be practiced by other than the describedembodiments, which are presented for purposes of illustration ratherthan of limitation, and that the present invention is limited only bythe claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for using an electronic coupon platformto generate an event driven coupon processor alert, the methodcomprising: using a memory, the memory part of the electronic couponplatform, storing customer profile data associated with a customer in anelectronic coupon platform database, the database, the customer profiledata including customer identification information and data relating toone or more electronic coupons electronically selected by the customer;using a receiver, the receiver part of the electronic coupon platform,receiving data from a first coupon processor, the data relating to thereceipt of data that identities the customer at a first point of saleterminal in electronic communication with the first coupon processor; inresponse to the receipt of data from the first coupon processor, using atransmitter, the transmitter part of the electronic coupon platform,transmitting instructions to a second coupon processor; wherein: theinstructions instruct the second coupon processor to transmit to theelectronic coupon platform an electronic request for data associatedwith the customer, the electronic request being initiated in the eventthat the second coupon processor receives data from a second point ofsale terminal relating to the receipt of data that identifies thecustomer.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting theinstructions to the second coupon processor in the event that thereceiver receives information relating to the modification of electroniccoupon information associated with the customer, the modification beingexecuted via a web-based portal.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein thedatabase is a first database and the second coupon processor isconfigured to store the instructions transmitted by the transmittermodule in a second database.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein upon theexpiration of a predetermined time period the transmitter transmits datato the second coupon processor, the data including the data receivedfrom the first coupon processor.
 5. The method of claim 4, whereintransmitting the data upon the expiration of the predetermined timeperiod effects the deletion of the instructions stored in a seconddatabase.
 6. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmittinginstructions to the first coupon processor in the event that thereceiver receives information relating to the modification of electroniccoupon information associated with the customer, the modification beingexecuted via a web-based portal, wherein the instructions instruct thefirst coupon processor to transmit to the electronic coupon platform anelectronic request for data associated with the customer, the electronicrequest being initiated in the event that the first coupon processorreceives data from the first point of sale terminal relating to thereceipt of data that identifies the customer.
 7. A method for using acoupon processor to receive an event driven coupon processor alert froman electronic platform, the method comprising: using a memory, thememory part of the coupon processor, storing customer profile dataassociated with a customer in a coupon processor database, the customerprofile data including customer identification information and datarelating to one or more electronic coupons electronically selected bythe customer, the one or more electronic coupons being configured to beredeemed at a point of sale terminal in electronic communication withthe coupon processor; using a receiver, the receiver part of the couponprocessor, receiving an electronic notification from an electroniccoupon platform, the electronic notification including instructions toassociate the electronic notification with the customer profile data;using a processor, the processor part of the coupon processor,electronically associating the electronic notification with the customerprofile data; and using a transmitter, the transmitter part of thecoupon processor, transmitting an electronic request to the electroniccoupon platform for customer profile data associated with the customerin the event that (1) the electronic notification is associated with thecustomer profile data and (2) information is received from the point ofsale terminal relating to the receipt of data that identifies thecustomer; wherein: the electronic association of the electronicnotification with the customer profile data prompts the transmitter totransmit the electronic request to the electronic coupon platformsubstantially immediately after the receipt of the information from thepoint of sale terminal.
 8. The method of claim 7 further comprisingdeleting the electronic notification upon the expiration of apredetermined time period.
 9. The method of claim 8 further comprisingreceiving, upon the expiration of the predetermined time period,customer profile data from the electronic coupon platform.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the customer profile data includes datarelating to electronic coupons redeemed by the customer during thepredetermined time period.
 11. The method of claim 10 further comprisingusing the processor to update the customer profile data to include thecustomer profile data received upon the expiration of the predeterminedtime period.
 12. The method of claim 7, wherein the receipt of data thatidentifies the customer relates to data included on a card swiped at thepoint of sale terminal.
 13. A method for using a coupon processor toreceive an event driven coupon processor alert from an electronicplatform, the coupon processor in communication with a point of saleterminal and a remote electronic coupon platform, the method comprising:using a memory associated with the coupon processor, storing multiplecustomer profiles relating to multiple customers in a coupon processordatabase, each of the multiple customer profiles comprising datarelating to a customer and data relating to one or more electroniccoupons, the electronic coupons electronically selected by the customervia a web-based portal; using a receiver associated with the couponprocessor, receiving data identifying a customer at a point of saleterminal wherein the data comprises a loyalty card or a paymentinstrument; using a processor associated with the coupon processor,determining if the data identifying the customer identifies one of themultiple customers; and using a transmitter associated with the couponprocessor, transmitting the data identifying the customer to anelectronic coupon platform in the event that the data identifying thecustomer identifies one of the multiple customers, wherein the receiptof the data identifying the customer at the electronic platforminitiates a transmission of instructions from the electronic platform toa second coupon processor, the instructions instructing the secondcoupon processor to request updated customer information from theelectronic coupon platform.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the dataidentifying the customer at the point of sale terminal is included on acustomer cell phone.
 15. The method of claim 14 further comprisingtransmitting the data to the point of sale terminal using near fieldcommunication.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein the data identifyingthe customer at the point of sale is included on a customer paymentinstrument.
 17. The method of claim 13, wherein the data identifying thecustomer at the point of sale is included on a customer loyalty card.